Dr. Eckart Altenmüller will travel to Marshall University Oct. 12 – 15 to give the keynote address for the Center for Wellness in the Arts (CWA) inauguration. Since August 2014, Marshall’s College of Arts and Media and the College of Health Professions have offered performing arts students the chance to work with athletic trainers to prevent injury from occurring during performances through the CWA.

Dr. Altenmüller, director for the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine in Hannover, Germany, holds a master’s degree in classical flute and MD and PhD degrees in neurology and neurophysiology. Altenmüller said it is important to have collaborations of this nature because musicians and other performing artists have special healthcare needs, which frequently are not addressed during training for health professionals.

“The professional life of performing artists is becoming more and more demanding,” Altenmüller said. “From our research we’ve learned strong performance anxiety frequently has its roots in early childhood, in over-demanding parents, low self-esteem and other anxieties. Musicians are like athletes working to their limits, and they need to develop excellent self-management skills to function at such a high level for many decades.”

Altenmüller said during his keynote address, he hopes to encourage the performing arts students to develop their best individual potential.

“We will teach them healthy practice habits, including how to cope with stressors, how to gain self-confidence and recognize unfavorable postures and habits and how to improve them,” Altenmüller said. “They need to learn the importance of taking breaks and physical exercise, mental training, psychological stability and how to integrate self-awareness to prevent burnout and frustration.”

Donald Van Horn, dean of the College of Arts and Media, said he believes it will be interesting to see the response to such a progressive focus in medicine for an often-underserved clientele.

“We feel fortunate to introduce our collaborative Center for Wellness in the Arts initiative alongside Dr. Altenmüller, a world-renowned performing arts physician,” Van Horn said. “I think his expertise will lend insight into the importance of this specialty, which addresses a variety of conditions and injuries related to or impacting on an artist’s ability to perform.”

Van Horn said because there are so many performing artists in need of this service, he hopes the future CWA program will include a degree offering.

Dr. Michael Prewitt, dean of the College of Health Professions, said he believes this partnership between health professions and arts and media will be beneficial for all parties.

“We wanted to invite Dr. Altenmüller to Marshall University to create long-term solutions for our campus community in regard to wellness in the arts,” Prewitt said. “We hope to integrate a sustainable program on performing artists and their well-being. We hope Marshall University will eventually be known for this particular collaboration and provide more stimulating opportunities for research with our faculty and students.”

Altenmüller will have the chance to discuss his research with students from the Marshall University Department of Orthopaedics before he travels back home to Germany. Dr. Ali Oliashirazi said Altenmüller will conduct Grand Rounds from 6:30 – 7:30 a.m. Oct. 15.

“It is with great pleasure and honor that we welcome Dr. Altenmüller as our Grand Rounds’ Visiting Professor; he clearly bridges the gap between the arts and sciences.” Oliashirazi said.

Dr. Altenmüller will give his keynote address during the CWA inauguration at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 13 in the Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center located on Marshall’s Huntington campus. Short speeches will be given by Dean Don Van Horn, theatre professor Nicole Perrone, music professor Henning Vauth, and Dean Michael Prewitt. For more information on the CWA inauguration, visit www.facebook.com/MarshallCWA online or contact special projects coordinator, Beth Caruthers, at roberts102@marshall.edu or 304-696-3296.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

In Anton Chekhov’s wistful tale of love and war, Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, lon to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, and remember happier times. THE THREE SISTERS is truly one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre.

All students on Marshall’s campus (full and part-time) are invited and encouraged to take part in the auditions for the spring productions of: The award winning musical, CABARET, by Kander and Ebb, and CLYBOURNE PARK, by Bruce Norris.

Auditions will be held in the Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre in the Performing Arts Center—please enter the Sixth Avenue door and follow the signs to the theatre.

Please prepare a one-minute contemporary monologue that reflects the sensibilities of the play (CLYBOURNE PARK), and 16-32 bars of a song “in the style of the show” (CABARET)—Accompanist will be provided. Although memorized selections are required for Theatre majors, non-majors are not required to present memorized material. Performance resume and head-shots are encouraged.

STRONG SINGERS AND DANCERS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND!

Call-backs will be held on Thursday (12/4 for CABARET) at 7:00 and Friday (12/5 for CLYBOURNE PARK) at 7:30, a call-back for each of the shows will be posted by 10 AM on Thursday (12/4) in the greenroom of the Performing Arts Center as well as via email.

Call-backs will be held on Thursday (12/4 for CABARET) at 7:00 and Friday (12/5 for CLYBOURNE PARK) at 7:30, a call-back for each of the shows will be posted by 10 AM on Thursday (12/4) in the greenroom of the Performing Arts Center as well as via email.